Meet the Party: Edge of the Empire

A scoundrel and a middleman with an uncanny habit of reading people. A slicer who flaunts her talents, abandoning the shadows and hunting for notoriety. A doctor who has lost his home, his people, and his respect but who refuses to falter. A seeker of truth who is deadly on the hunt. Each Meet the Party article gives you an entire group of ready-to-play adventurers (maybe even some heroes) for your gaming needs for a variety of systems and settings. It’s time to travel to a galaxy far, far away and Meet the Party for Edge of the Empire from Fantasy Flight Games!

For our first visit to the Edge of the Empire, we’ll be keeping things simple: species, specializations, and gear from the Core Rulebook, and that’s it. But, just because we’re sticking to the basics for now, that doesn’t mean the party will be boring. Multiple specializations per Career mean that no two smugglers, for instance, will ever be exactly alike. And with their Obligations bearing down the crew will have their work cut out for them when it comes to making a living on the fringe.

Nobody can lie or sweet-talk the crew into or out of trouble quite like Donn’eera, and when it comes time to flee the planet he’s the one at the cockpit controls. He’s a decent shot, has sharp senses, and knows a respectable amount about living on the fringe. Force Power: Sense also allows him to detect the emotions of others, giving him a crucial edge in deal-making and hazard avoidance.

Mariana Jast is a living key that can open doors for the party, both physical and electronic. She can keep the ship running and help it get to its destination, and she’s the most knowledgeable about living life in the shadows. Mariana’s also the getaway driver dirtside, and when even that doesn’t work she’s a crack shot with her blaster carbine.

Ciirporin is the smartest being on the crew, and it shows with his wide spread of Knowledge skills. While Mariana might keep the ship running Ciirporin is the one who keeps the crew alive when things go foul, patching them up and keeping them moving. He’s a fair hand at convincing people to see things his way or strike a deal, and while he’s not a fighter by trade he’s the most dangerous crewmember in melee, able to throw a solid punch while also being the sturdiest being on the ship.

Jeeruk is the best shot on the crew, no contest, able to deliver more damage more accurately at a longer range than anyone. He also has the sharpest senses and brings a crucial knowledge of the galaxy’s diverse species. He’s the crewmember most likely to keep a cool head, and he’s the one the rest will turn to when a job takes them out of civilization. If the party has a living target, the target is going to have a hard time losing the Findsman.

The crew all start with a total of 10 Obligation as is standard for a four character party, sometimes across more than one type of Obligation. Where a character’s Obligation has been increased is noted in parentheses, along with what they received in return, which is then accounted for in the rest of the sheet.

Who They Are

Donn’eera is the nominal leader of the crew, and the original owner of the YT-1300 class Dealmaker that serves as the crew’s transport and home. Originally ‘Donny’ made a decent and low-risk living as a middleman on his homeworld of Ryloth, helping illicit credits and goods move from place to place. That lasted until his little brother started moving things with his mind, and a business associate with a grudge found out. Rather than turn in Donn’eera’s brother for the bounty on Force sensitives, the associate blackmailed the smuggler, demanding his services from time to time in exchange for continued silence. The Twi’lek has now taken a more active role in the underworld in order to accommodate both his blackmail and his efforts to support himself and his brother. He has no idea that his ‘hunches’ and ‘instincts’ while wheeling and dealing are a manifestation of his own, more subtle, Force sensitivity . . .

Most slicers value anonymity, keeping to the shadows and living their entire careers as unknowns. MarianaJast thinks that way of living is a bunch of bantha poodoo. After all, she’s obviously the best slicer of her generation, and everyone ought to know about it. A young Mariana, smart and quick-witted, already had a laundry list of thefts to her name by the time things on her homeworld got too hot and she had to move her efforts to the wider galaxy. For a time she worked solo, reveling in the notoriety that each heist brought her. The resulting bounty was merely a badge of honor, and every hunter defeated or outwitted was another feather in her cap. Still, it’s annoying to keep having to fire her carbine with one hand while slicing with the other all the time, so Mariana eventually decided she needed a crew around her. She would get protection, and they would get to bask in her magnificence.

The time of the Galactic Empire is a difficult one for any Wookiee, and doubly so for one like Ciirporin. Once a respected doctor on his homeworld of Kashyyyk and a celebrated combat medic of the Clone Wars he now lives a life on the run. Enslaved by the Empire and their Trandoshan lackeys in the wake of the New Order’s birth, Ciirporin was forced to be little more than dumb muscle, toiling away to fuel the Imperial machine like so many of his kind. Although practically a pacifist by Wookiee standards, the doctor could not abide this and was part of a violent but successful escape attempt. Now he plies his medical trade in the shadows, bereft of his former dignity or respect and with a price on his head. Still, he hones his skills and dreams of helping secure wider freedom for the Wookiees, either outside of the Empire . . . or over their corpses.

To be a Findsman of Gand is to be part of a tradition that holds the mists of that world as sacred, and for the ability to track prey through them as a spiritual effort as well as a pragmatic one. Jeerukis a staunch follower of the tradition and a well-known Gand, although he has not yet earned the right to use first-person pronouns. As part of his efforts to grow in his near-mystical abilities the Gand decided to leave the mists behind, to seek out ‘the truth’ across a wider galaxy. The never-ending list of evildoers who have a bounty on their head make for good practice, and serve to support Jeeruk as he wanders the galaxy. His fellow crewmembers also help him in this; following the tangle of their lives is as complex as any hunt through the mists he’s ever experienced.

How They Interact

Donn’eera honestly finds Mariana to be a little supercilious, always going on about her solo heists and never turning down a chance to highlight her contributions to the crew, but he’s smart enough to realize that he could actually learn a few things from her if he listens carefully. He and Ciirporin share a mutual dislike for slavery, and Donn’eera considers the Wookiee his best conversation partner aboard the ship. Jeeruk is trustworthy in a lifestyle that breeds distrust, and Donn’eera treasures that deeply. He does still catch the Gand staring at him now and again, though, which remains somewhat unsettling.

As far as Mariana is concerned Donny is a good kid, a lot of potential, but tragically tied down between his brother and his blackmail issues. She’s taken it upon herself to teach by example, and what better example than herself? Ciirporin is even more tied down than Donny, and really doesn’t belong in the fringer world as far as she’s concerned. Still, the big lug’s alright for a walking carpet. When Mariana scores the big one and buys herself a moon or two, she’ll make sure he get some credits to help his people. Jeeruk’s downright weird, true, but Mariana couldn’t ask for a better partner to cover her back. He’s the only crewmember she doesn’t waste breath bragging to.

Ciirporin thinks of Donn’eera as a cub, but a smart one, and the first ‘captain’ he’s had since joining the fringe that might make it a worthwhile experience. Certainly the young Twi’lek makes for an amicable traveling companion, and it’s possible the pair might be able to help one another with their personal problems. Mariana is annoying at best, insufferable at worst, but she’s a fellow intellectual of a sort. Ciirporin could do without her blathering, but at least the parts that aren’t bragging consist of worthy subjects. Jeeruk is a bounty hunter by trade, which made for some initially sour exchanges on the part of the Wookiee, but Ciirporin has come to realize the Gand is much like the hunters of the Kashyyyk forests.

While many think that the Findsmen are Force sensitive the Findsmen themselves are consistent in denying this. That doesn’t mean that Jeeruk doesn’t notice the signs with Donn’eera. While Jeeruk has no proof that would convince the others, the Gand doesn’t feel the need to bother convincing. Jeeruk is content to watch and see what truth reveals itself in the scoundrel. Mariana might lack the spiritual aspect of the Findsmen, but her ability to ferret out information is analogous to searching the mists, and she should be respected. for it. Ciirporin’s determination to do something for his people is to be admired and protected. A Findsman does not do what he does for himself, after all, but for the good of the Gand. The Wookiee simply tries to do the same for his people, using different but respectable methods.

The Future

Ciirporin and Mariana have bounties on their heads; the Wookiee simply because of what he is, and Mariana seems to enjoy cultivating an ever larger bounty. The Wookiee’s thoughts are never far from Kashyyyk and his people, still largely bound in slavery to the Empire. Donn’eera lives in fear of his brother’s gifts being discovered while also struggling to balance the needs of the crew with his former associate’s ever-increasing demands, all the while unaware of his own gifts and the danger they might represent. Jeeruk sticks to the path of the Findsman in a galaxy that’s often more confounding than the mists of Gand and much more likely to get him killed in his spiritual hunt.

Can the crew of the Dealmaker survive on the Edge of the Empire, which is dangerous enough without all their personal issues, or will the fringe claim a few more victims? That’s for you (and your dice) to determine!